I wondered if anyone had heard whether there will be an event this year as I don't want to put aside a week's annual holiday unless it is.

I am aware that the WC final in November probably precludes the involvement of Carlsen and Anand. Also there were statements made around the fundraising efforts during last year's LCC implying that money needed to be raised to ensure this year's event suggesting some uncertainty and no statement (that I have seen) as yet from Malcolm Pein indicating there will be an event (although maybe it is a bit early)

Hoping someone on here has some inside knowledge............................

Matthew Peat wrote:I wondered if anyone had heard whether there will be an event this year as I don't want to put aside a week's annual holiday unless it is.

I am aware that the WC final in November probably precludes the involvement of Carlsen and Anand. Also there were statements made around the fundraising efforts during last year's LCC implying that money needed to be raised to ensure this year's event suggesting some uncertainty and no statement (that I have seen) as yet from Malcolm Pein indicating there will be an event (although maybe it is a bit early)

Hoping someone on here has some inside knowledge............................

Same as every other year, wait for an announcement which is normally around May time (from memory). Maybe the 4NCL Wood Green meal will be the place to recruitment the super GMs

Matthew Peat wrote:I wondered if anyone had heard whether there will be an event this year as I don't want to put aside a week's annual holiday unless it is.

Hoping someone on here has some inside knowledge............................

Work and negotiations are ongoing. Everyone is hopeful that it will happen but, as Loz said, it will be announced as soon as everything is confirmed (or otherwise). Sorry I can't be more definitive than that at this stage.

Sean Hewitt wrote:Work and negotiations are ongoing. Everyone is hopeful that it will happen but, as Loz said, it will be announced as soon as everything is confirmed (or otherwise). Sorry I can't be more definitive than that at this stage.

Could you at least share whether the tentative dates are still the first half of December or alternative dates are considered?

Sean Hewitt wrote:Work and negotiations are ongoing. Everyone is hopeful that it will happen but, as Loz said, it will be announced as soon as everything is confirmed (or otherwise). Sorry I can't be more definitive than that at this stage.

Could you at least share whether the tentative dates are still the first half of December or alternative dates are considered?

Malcolm said in his CHESS editorial a week or so ago that there was still no decision yet, but thought it likely that there would be an announcement in the next issue ( - so in about 3 weeks time then).

According to the LCC Facebook and Twitter feeds, the 5th London Chess Classic is on, from 7-15 December.

Great news!

Follow me on Twitter @BackRankTristan for a patzer's-eye view of the amateur chess world: 140-character book reviews, ill-informed opinion, cartoon updates from the Back Rank, and other assorted chess rubbish.

I am delighted to announce that the 5th London Chess Classic will take place at Olympia from Saturday December 7th to Sunday December 15th. The 5th Classic will not feature top level Classical Chess, but it will be headlined by a world class Rapid tournament as well some celebrity contests if I can find some celebs that are brave enough.

The switch to Rapid is because Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen will doubtless be very tired so soon after the conclusion of their world title match at Chennai which is scheduled to end on November 26th.

The schools events will be expanded and the festival, with weekenders, FIDE Open, simultaneous displays and lectures will take place as usual.

The FIDE Open will probably act as a qualifier for the main event and there will be some Blindfold Chess and Chess 960 so it should be an all round chess extravaganza.

Tickets will go on sale in September after the field has been finalised. The venue will again be Olympia.

Please watch this site for more information including the festival entry form. Latest developments will be posted on Twitter via @londonclassic. Once again thereâ€™ll be a cutting edge live broadcast and Iâ€™m looking forward to welcoming you to the biggest Classic ever.

Malcolm noted that:
"The switch to Rapid is because Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen will doubtless be very tired so soon after the conclusion of their world title match at Chennai which is scheduled to end on November 26th."

Does this really stack up? However great a player might be, Carlsen is not the only outstanding grandmaster in the world, and similarly Anand. It would still be an enthralling event, even without Carlsen and Anand. This would be so, even with the competing attractions of FIDE's World Team Championships (Armenia, China, Ukraine, Russia. etc). It would still be a dream tournament without the top ten teams. Concentrating on youth, and the thought of who is the player younger than Carlsen, we might have:

Three of these players have beaten Carlsen in full-length games since 2011. One of these, who knows, might become World Champion before too long. And definitely strong opposition to the top English players. None of these players has taken part in the London Classic.

A cynic might assume that the super-grandmaster all-play-all even at London Olympia has quietly been dropped, making the excuse of the forthcoming World Championship.

Clarification please? It would be sad if such an innovative event is to dropped permanently.

"... this year the Classic will be headlined by a world-class Rapid tournament (25 minutes + 10 seconds per move) that will start on Wednesday 11th December and finish on Sunday 15th December.

This will feature a 16-player field split into four groups, with the top two from each group qualifying for the quarter final knockout stages. Scoring will be 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss (Sofia Rules will apply regarding draw offers).

And the first two players to sign up for the 5th Classic are both big crowdpleasers: World Champion Anand and the US No.1 Hikaru Nakamura...

The schools events will be expanded and the festival, with weekenders, FIDE Open, simultaneous displays and lectures will all take place as usual -- but look out for what could be a novelty twist to the FIDE Open! The smorgasbord of chess at the London Classic will also include Pro-Celebrity Chess, Blindfold Chess and Chess 960. Tickets will go on sale in September after the field has been finalised. Tickets will again be free for children."

" Kramnik now joins World Champion Vishy Anand and the US No.1, Hikaru Nakamura as the the third player to have confirmed they will play in the 5th London Chess Classic. The rest of the 16-player Rapid field will be announced in the coming week. "

16 players. Wonder how many will be previous Classic players. Some will be new, obviously.

Mick Norris wrote:
Interesting line up of events around the Classic too

A cut back on events with FIDE rating, only the nine rounder, the Womens and one of the weekenders. None of the rapidplays or Blitz. Presumably an effect of recent FIDE regulations.

I'm not sure what I think of starting play every day at 4.30pm during the week in the FIDE Open. If commuting, it can make for a daily experience of late night trains. It can also get busy trying to reach the venue for the start time.